


A Practical Proposition

by spaceviolets



Series: Like Normal People [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: College AU, F/M, NOT a love triangle, Work In Progress, because let's be real here there's no way this is ever going to happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-18
Updated: 2014-01-18
Packaged: 2018-01-09 03:06:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1140704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceviolets/pseuds/spaceviolets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While attending a university out of town, Ichigo and Tatsuki decide to be practical young adults and share an apartment together.  Little do they know that living together will result in unforeseen complications...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Practical Proposition

**Author's Note:**

> Consider this a test chapter, since I can't guarantee if or when I'll update...there aren't enough Ichitatsu fics, are there? One day a few months ago, I just had a burst of inspiration and rare mental clarity, and this is the unexpectedly decent result. It's not perfect, but it's as close as I've gotten in a long time and the last thing I've written in a while, so I figured I might as well share it instead of letting it gather dust on my computer.  
> I don't need to add a disclaimer, do I? It's obvious I'm not Tite Kubo. He's busy slaving away at his desk, churning out manga chapters, probably cramping his hands a lot...

oO*Oo

 

"Please tell me you're kidding, Ichigo."

A very confused and slightly incredulous Tatsuki Arisawa sat across from her childhood friend in a little cafe that had recently opened near the high school. They had met coincidentally when they both came in for drinks -- an iced mocha for him and a strong black tea for her -- and after a few minutes of comfortable small talk, Ichigo had suddenly asked if she wanted to share an apartment when they went away to college.

He sipped his coffee, calm and nonchalant, as if it wasn't strange at all to ask his female friend to live with him.

"Think about it, Tatsuki," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to split the rent, and since we're the only ones going to this particular university, it seems a lot easier to just live together instead of paying full price for individual apartments in the same area."

"That does make sense," Tatsuki admitted, "but don't you think it would be kind of awkward, us living together?"

Ichigo looked puzzled. "Why would it be?"

"Hello? You're a guy, I'm a girl."

"So? I've got two sisters, it's not a big deal."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Newsflash, Ichigo: I'm not your sister. I'm your friend. And friends of the opposite sex don't live together -- unless it's a gay guy and his best girl friend -- without ending up making their friendship awkward or scaring away potential dates. Besides, everyone will think we're shacking up, you know? I don't want to deal with those kinds of idiotic rumors."

Ichigo frowned, shaking his tall plastic coffee cup to stir around the ice. "That's stupid. Who cares what people think? It's practical and we're not interested in each other that way, so I don't see what the problem is."

Truthfully, Ichigo's idea was a pretty tempting one. Tatsuki wasn't even sure she could afford an apartment close to the university by herself, and had been considering looking for a roommate. Now Ichigo was making this highly convenient proposition. The fact that the guy was loaded was just an added bonus; being the savior of the realms of the living and the dead, he had recently been presented with a rather substantial cash award (Head Captain Kyoraku wouldn't take no for an answer, and Rukia had threatened to beat him up if he refused the money). As far as Tatsuki knew, Ichigo was set for life. They wouldn't even really need jobs, which would cut down on a lot of stress and responsibility so they could focus on their schoolwork. It was the perfect setup, and Tatsuki knew she'd be an idiot to refuse the offer.

But she couldn't help worrying about the social consequences. As she said before, living together would probably impact their ability to get dates. Guys tended to be uncomfortable dating a girl who lived with another straight, unrelated male, and vice-versa. Of course, they could just tell people they were siblings. She did have a lot of practice mimicking his signature scowl, so maybe that would be enough to convince anyone who asked...

After giving it some more thought, Tatsuki finally admitted to herself that it was a financially practical decision. "Fine," she sighed, "I'll do it. But I gotta ask, Ichigo: why are you so interested in saving money when you've probably got more in the bank than Ishida?"

At this, Ichigo looked sheepish. "Uh, well, to be honest, I just thought it would save you money, Tatsuki...I mean, if you were living by yourself, you'd have to worry about getting a job and paying for groceries and stuff like that in addition to keeping up with school. I figured you could let me pay for food and necessities, unless you just wanted to pitch in, and all you'd have to worry about is your half of the rent. Plus you told me a few days ago that you already had enough saved up to pay rent on a decent place for a year. If you're just paying half, you'll have a lot left over, right? You could use it to buy a better phone, and maybe a nice computer."

For a moment, Tatsuki wondered whether she should be touched or irritated that he was doing this for her sake, but then she glanced at her phone where it rested on the table, and her eyes narrowed. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with my phone!"

"I didn't say there was," said Ichigo hastily. "I only meant that you could get a newer model if you wanted to upgrade." But even as he said this, his face became comically pitying as he picked up the battered old Nokia. "Seriously, though, how old is this thing? You've had this phone since we were in grade school, and even back then, it was a freakin' dinosaur."

Tatsuki snatched her phone back, scowling. "This phone has been through hell and it still works great. If I replaced it, I'd feel like a traitor."

"All right then, keep the old dinosaur," Ichigo snickered, downing the last of his coffee and pulling out his own recently acquired top-of-the-line model, its shiny black case customized with a flaming skull similar to the one on his old Substitute Badge. "But keep in mind, this baby's fully loaded with music, games, and it's even got a Hollow Detector courtesy of Urahara. I can get you one anytime you want, just say the word."

It was a really nice phone, and the cover was freakin' awesome. Tatsuki was a little bit jealous; not only was it sleek and fancy, it was also probably more indestructable than her little Nokia, thanks to Urahara's tampering with the original design.

"Enough about the damn phone already," she huffed, glancing at her watch. "It's almost five, and I promised Orihime we'd meet at Ricardo's."

Ichigo lifted an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "That cheap shack with the soggy pasta and greasy breadsticks? Wouldn't you rather eat somewhere more authentic and less...disgusting?"

"Orihime insisted on treating me, and it's the only place she can afford that isn't takeout." Tatsuki started to get up from the table, and Ichigo followed.

"What if I can persuade her to let me treat both of you to some real Italian food?" he asked as they threw away their empty paper cups and headed out the door. "There's a new place downtown that just opened up last week. I took the girls yesterday; it's affordable, the decor is nice, and the food is amazing. I'm sure Inoue will love it. And," he added when she looked like she was about to refuse out of sheer stubbornness, "there's much less risk of food poisoning."

Tatsuki couldn't really argue when he put it like that. Orihime was used to eating questionable foods, but Tatsuki would much rather avoid puking her guts out later in the evening. And Ricardo's really was a dump, though it inexplicably attracted countless American tourists every year.

"Oh, all right," she sighed. "You're just gonna keep bugging me about it, anyway..."

 

oO*Oo

 

The restaurant was, to Tatsuki's dismay, a much nicer place than Ichigo let on. Convincing Orihime had been easy since she was never one to turn down a good meal (or Ichigo for that matter); Tatsuki had done her best to make excuses and give her friend a decent opportunity to finally hit it off with Ichigo, but the two of them were totally oblivious and dragged her along anyway. Now she was sitting on Ichigo's left side in a private corner booth, staring incredulously at the prices on the menu while at the same time feeling horribly self-conscious since the three of them were dressed so casually in comparison to the other customers.

I'm gonna murder you for this, Ichigo, she growled mentally, glaring daggers at the orange-haired jerk beside her. But he was studying the menu, completely unaffected by her unspoken death wish.

"I think I know what I want!" Orihime announced with a bright smile. "Have you decided yet, Tatsuki?"

Tatsuki shook her head with a sigh. "If I had known how fancy this place was, I never would have agreed to come..."

Like she had a choice to begin with. Together, her two orange-haired friends were very persuasive, with their puppy-dog eyes and excited smiles she could never say no to. Of course if it was just Ichigo, she might have been able to get away. But she just couldn't handle both of them at once. It was too much.

Putting down his menu, Ichigo frowned. "I told you, it's no big deal. I wouldn't have offered if I cared about the price of the food."

"It's not just that, idiot. Look at us! We look like complete slobs next to these people, it's embarrassing!"

"We look just fine. At least we're not dressed like punks or something." But as he said this, Tatsuki glanced pointedly down at his black band t-shirt and ripped jeans, and Ichigo blushed. "Okay, so maybe I look like a punk, but you and Orihime look like nice, respectable young ladies. It balances out."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. Orihime turned pink and was about to make some sort of protest when the waiter arrived, a young man with tousled brown hair and a friendly face. "Good afternoon, and welcome. What would you like to drink?"

Tatsuki couldn't help noticing the guy was giving Orihime a look. It wasn't a perverted look, as most of the male population tended to have whenever they came into contact with the beautiful, buxom girl, so Tatsuki figured beating him up wouldn't be necessary. Besides, with Ichigo here, he would probably assume Orihime was taken and keep his distance. Nobody ever wanted to mess with Ichigo.

They all ordered water. When the guy came back, he was definitely, unabashedly smiling at Orihime, who appeared mildly confused but smiled back. Tatsuki wondered if he had some kind of death wish or if it just hadn't occurred to him that Orihime could be Ichigo's girlfriend.

"I'll be right back," she muttered, following the waiter as he walked away.

She caught up to him, and he turned to give her a polite, questioning smile. "I'm sorry, miss, did you need something?"

"Listen, buddy, I don't want you to get your hopes up. My friend is interested in someone else."

The waiter looked disappointed. "Seriously? That's a shame...she's really cute. Oh well." He tried to cover up his embarrassment with a laugh. "I guess I wasn't too subtle, huh? Man, I sure hope her brother didn't notice me staring at her..."

Tatsuki blinked. "Her...brother?"

The waiter frowned slightly in confusion. "Your boyfriend, isn't he your friend's brother? They look alike. I assumed -- "

Boyfriend. This guy thought...Ichigo was her...boyfriend...

She wanted to laugh, but she'd held up the waiter long enough, so she simply turned around and went back to the booth. Orihime was talking animatedly about something, her hands flying in gestures and her face making funny expressions. Ichigo sat with his head propped on his hands, watching her with a soft look in his eyes (and was it her imagination, or had they moved closer since Tatsuki left?). Suddenly she didn't feel like laughing anymore.

"Ugh, guys? I don't feel so good." Tatsuki put on her best sick face and rested her hand on her stomach. "I really think I should go home..."

"Oh no!" Orihime gasped, concern filling her warm grey eyes and making Tatsuki feel just a tiny bit guilty for lying.

Ichigo, on the other hand, eyed her with carefully hidden suspicion. "That's too bad. You might feel better if you eat something, you know."

Tatsuki shook her head, grimacing. "No, I think that'll only make it worse...I'm just gonna head home and lie down. You guys stay and have fun."

This time, Ichigo didn't say a word to stop her from leaving. She wondered if she was just a good actress or if he somehow knew what she was trying to do. In any case, she just hoped Orihime had the good sense to tell Ichigo how she felt while she had the chance.

 

oO*Oo

 

to be continued?


End file.
